If you have been sentenced in Federal Court and you want a lower sentence, you need to know about Rule 35 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rule 35 allows a sentence to be modified by a Federal District Court Judge after the judgment has been pronounced and the sentence has begun. This can be very important to someone who is looking for a way to get their sentence in the Bureau of Prisons reduced and for them to spend less time incarcerated at a United States Penitentiary, Correctional Institution, or Prison Camp. So how do you get a Rule 35 reduction?

First, look at  how Rule 35(b) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure reads as of November 15, 2023:

“(b) Reducing a Sentence for Substantial Assistance.

(1) In General. Upon the government’s motion made within one year of sentencing, the court may reduce a sentence if the defendant, after sentencing, provided substantial assistance in investigating or prosecuting another person.

(2) Later Motion. Upon the government’s motion made more than one year after sentencing, the court may reduce a sentence if the defendant’s substantial assistance involved:

(A) information not known to the defendant until one year or more after sentencing;

(B) information provided by the defendant to the government within one year of sentencing, but which did not become useful to the government until more than one year after sentencing; or

(C) information the usefulness of which could not reasonably have been anticipated by the defendant until more than one year after sentencing and which was promptly provided to the government after its usefulness was reasonably apparent to the defendant.

(3) Evaluating Substantial Assistance. In evaluating whether the defendant has provided substantial assistance, the court may consider the defendant’s presentence assistance.

(4) Below Statutory Minimum. When acting under Rule 35(b), the court may reduce the sentence to a level below the minimum sentence established by statute.”

So, what does this mean? This means that in order to get a Rule 35 reduction, a Defendant must provide substantial assistance to the government. You can’t just provide some small amount of assistance. The assistance has to be substantial. And the Government has to think it’s substantial enough that the Government files the Motion for a Rule 35 reduction. You want to make sure that the assistance you provide is viewed by the government in the best light possible.

It’s important to understand when Rule 35 is used. Rule 35 is the mechanism for getting credit for providing substantial assistance to the government after a sentence has been pronounced, whereas a 5k is the mechanism for getting credit for substantial assistance prior to the sentence being given to a Defendant. You want to make sure that you provide substantial assistance to the government in a time period that complies with Rule 35, because Rule 35 has time requirements associated with it, as you can see in section (b)(2).

Finding a Federal Criminal Defense lawyer who understands Rule 35 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure can be helpful with your Federal sentencing. If you are facing Federal criminal charges, whether it’s wire fraud, mail fraud, healthcare fraud, or some other offense, call today to talk to a Federal criminal defense lawyer.